Postdoctoral Researcher, Arce Lab

About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution conducting curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

• Funding: Arc fully funds Core Investigators’ (PIs’) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
• Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize, and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators. 
• Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially, and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
• Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

Arc has scaled to nearly 300 people to date. With $650M in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.

About the position

The Arce Lab investigates the regulatory mechanisms that are required for distinct immune functions in an effort to identify and correct the origins of immune-mediated disease. We are seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to join our team at Arc. In this role, you will adapt and integrate cutting edge gene editing techniques and genomic assays to investigate the genetic origins of autoimmune diseases. With consideration for the multi-factorial nature of complex disease, you will design and execute experiments aimed at understanding how dysfunction occurs at a cellular level. From the non-coding genome, to the multimeric proteome, there are opportunities to identify novel mechanisms controlling important immune functions that can be leveraged for therapeutic benefit. Within this role you will have the opportunity to investigate how each of these components contributes to immune homeostasis. You will be expected to make decisions regarding the direction of the project(s) that you lead and work independently on a daily basis. 

About you

• You are deeply curious about the mechanisms that control immune cell function
• You are a creative problem solver and are resilient in finding solutions
• You are enthusiastic about the opportunity to develop and refine projects and processes
• You are passionate about understanding how biological systems work and excited to make discoveries that may improve human health
• You are self-motivated and work efficiently with diligence
• You prioritize a positive work environment for yourself and your teammates
  
  

In this position you will

• Investigate the role of autoimmune risk variants on cellular functions
• Apply CRISPR genome editing in primary human immune cells
• Generate and analyze single cell multi-omics data
• Collaborate both internally and with external institutions to pursue the biochemical mechanism of specific regulatory factors
• Communicate your work in the form of publications and presentations
• Participate in lab meetings and Institute-wide activities (seminars, symposiums, etc).

Requirements

• PhD in immunology, genomics, genetics, biological sciences or related fields 
• Highly collaborative team player willing to both learn from and train others
• Ability to work independently to establish new technical protocols and derive biological insight from findings
• Resourceful and eager to push forward progress
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with CRISPR gene editing and high throughput screening
• Proficiency in coding languages such as R or Python for genomic data analysis
• Experience with immune cell culturing and immunological functional assays

The minimum base salary for this position is $80,000. Base salary for this role is determined by how many months of relevant postdoctoral experience a successful candidate has. Base salary for this role is not negotiable.